German

StoryLearning German Uncovered Review: Fun Way To Acquire German

StoryLearning German Uncovered

Rating 4.0
★★★★★

Summary

StoryLeaning German Uncovered comes from Olly Richards, the creator of the super popular polyglot blog. It’s quite a bit different than most courses as it revolves around an engaging story. It can be a bit more challenging than other courses, as you begin reading somewhat long texts right off the bat. Overall, I found it to be a more fun way to approach language learning that will be great for some but not ideal for others.

Quality 4.0
★★★★★

The instruction is clear but can have too much information crammed into a single lesson.

Thoroughness 4.0
★★★★★

You’ll practice every aspect of the language.

Value 4.0
★★★★★

It has a pretty high price, but if you stick with it, you’ll get good value from it.

I Like
  • Centering the lessons around a story makes learning more fun.
  • Good clear instruction with lots of opportunities to practive what you’ve learned.
  • Gets students to actively participate and take control of their own learning.
I Don’t Like
  • Too many unrelated grammar points are included in the grammar lessons.
  • The review quiz is too short.
Price

A one-time purchase costs $297. There’s also a 7-day free trial.

Start German Uncovered

The StoryLearning Method involves teaching grammar and vocabulary within the context of a short story. Stories mix German vocabulary and grammar points together so that connections can be made between what a word means and how it is used, which research into language development shows is more useful than individual vocabulary points.

…

StoryLearning German Uncovered Review: Fun Way To Acquire GermanRead More »

Lingoda Review – Positive Experience But Room For Improvement

Lingoda

Rating 4.0
★★★★★

Summary

Lingoda is an online language learning platform where you can take private or group classes at any time of the day. They offer lessons in Spanish, German, French, and English. There are a large number of lessons available for everyone from absolute beginners to more advanced levels. It’s a good option to get the structure of a course with the guidance of a teacher, at an affordable price.

Quality 4.0
★★★★★

Both the platform and the content itself are easy to use and presented well.

Thoroughness 4.0
★★★★★

Although there are hundreds of lessons, they could use a bit more variety and you’ll need to study them with a teacher to get much benefit.

Value 4.0
★★★★★

It’s an affordable option that gives you access to good teachers and a comprehensive course.

I Like
  • The flexible hours mean that you can pretty much take a class whenever suits you – whether that’s 3am or 3pm!
  • Right from the start, the teachers speak almost entirely in the language that you’re learning.
  • There are hundreds of different classes covering different subjects for all levels.
I Don’t Like
  • The quality of your class and how much content you cover relies to a large extent on the other students. This also impacts how much time you actually get to speak.
  • The lesson materials all look quite similar and there is not much variation between lessons.
Price

There are lots of different plans available whether it matters how many classes you want to take or if you want to do individual or group.

For group classes, it is $399.99 a month, which gives you access to 40 class subscriptions.

For private classes, the plan is $799.99 a month for 40 classes.

There are a lot of smaller plans than these so take a look as to what is interesting to you.

There are also “marathon” plans for three, six, or twelve months that offer lower per-class rates and a chance to earn cashback if you attend 90% of your classes.

VISIT LINGODA

It’s an affordable option that gives you access to good teachers and a comprehensive course.Lingoda is an online language learning school where classes take place 24/7 and native speakers teach you either English, French, German or Spanish (depending on what you sign up for). The lessons progress in difficulty following a course and the teachers help you out along the way in both private and group lessons where you’ll be with up to four other people.

…

Lingoda Review – Positive Experience But Room For ImprovementRead More »

An Honest Review of Speechling With Image of Girl Looking at Phone

Speechling Review – I Didn’t Know I Was Saying That Wrong!

Speechling

Rating 4.3
★★★★
★
★

Summary

Speechling is a website and app that makes it easy to improve your speaking skills in several languages. The free version is an incredbily valuable resource that makes it easy to practice mimicking native speakers. The Unlimited Plan provides unlimited corrections of your recordings by a teacher.

Quality 4.5
★★★★
★
★

Speachling makes it easy to improve your speaking rhythm and pronunciation.

Thoroughness 4.5
★★★★
★
★

Lots of different ways to practice speaking.

Value 4.0
★★★★★

The free version is better than most paid resources and the paid version provides outstanding value.

I Like
  • An excellent method to improve your speaking abilities and get feedback from a real teacher.
  • Answer the Question, Describe the Image, and Freestyle mode are great for higher levels.
  • You can switch languages at any time. I like seeing translations in my second language while studying my third language.
  • Truly unlimited recordings with quick feedback.
I Don’t Like
  • Absolute Beginners should learn the basics elsewhere first.
  • You’ll need to learn how to make the sounds of your target language on your own.
  • The amount of time given to record sentences can be too short.
Price

The Forever Free Plan is complete free. A monthly subscription to the Unlimited Plan costs $19.99 per month.

Click the link to save 10% on Speechling’s Unlimited Plan.

Visit Speechling

Speechling has quickly become one of my favorite language learning resources. The free version includes a ton of useful features and the premium plan is great value for the cost.

…

Speechling Review – I Didn’t Know I Was Saying That Wrong!Read More »

An Honest Review of smarterGerman with Image of German Town on Lake

SmarterGerman Review – A Unique And Challenging Course

SmarterGerman

Rating 4.5
★★★★
★
★

Summary

SmarterGerman is much different than every other language learning resource I’ve tried. Its Everyday German Course is made up of 12 parts that are five lessons a piece, each of which correspond with a chapter from a German crime story. Through these lessons, and lots of exercises, the course will help you reach the B1 level. Unlike most courses where there’s a lot of spoonfeeding of information, this course pushes you to use your critical thinking skills.

Quality 5.0
★★★★★

Michael, the course creator, is an excellent teacher

Thoroughness 4.5
★★★★
★
★

There are abundant exercises to practice every aspect of German.

Value 4.0
★★★★★

Each level is $349 excl. VAT/GST. Up to 40% off with bundles.  Ongoing Live Q&A sessions, completely free of charge.

I Like
  • Michael’s teaching philosophy will not only help you improve your German but also your approach to language learning.
  • The learning cycle will help you practice reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, and grammar.
  • It’s a challenging course, even if you’ve already studied some German.
I Don’t Like
  • It can be very intimidating as an absolute beginner to German.
  • Students who aren’t very committed to studying German may struggle.
  • It’s not the cheapest program.
Price

The Magnificent German Course Bundle (A1-C1) costs $699+ excl. VAT/GST. Or each level for $349. This comes with Live Q&A sessions with Michael himself.

Until September 24, German Grammar Genius course is 20% off. Use the code SPOTLIGHT-GGG

Buy SmarterGerman Risk Free

I first heard about smarterGerman while putting together this huge list of 130+ resources to study German.

…

SmarterGerman Review – A Unique And Challenging CourseRead More »

Bilingual Oxford Dictionaries Mini Review: Handy Apps

Oxford Dictionaries

Rating 4.2
★★★★
★
★
Price:

Free

Summary

Oxford Dictionary has published numerous bilingual dictionaries over the years, many of which are not designed to be comprehensive. While some are “complete” dictionaries, others are called “mini”, “concise”, “essential” or even “shorter”. Even the smaller ones are pretty thorough, however. The Oxford Mini Greek dictionary contains 40,000 words and phrases, many of which also contain multiple translations. It’s a lot shorter than the Oxford Hindi dictionary, at 100,000 entries, or the New Oxford American English Dictionary at 350,000 – but it’s still got a wider vocabulary than the average English speaker. You can purchase the books themselves, but most learners will prefer the convenience of the apps with their regular updates and learner-friendly features. Search Autocomplete, Fuzzy Filter, Wild Card and Voice Search help you find words you don’t know how to spell. Favourites help you save useful words and phrases, while Word of the Day will introduce you to new words. Some dictionaries also contain audio recordings and thesauruses. And the freemium Oxford Dictionary with Translator will translate words and paragraphs to and from 14 languages. For some languages, learners already have plenty of free, thorough dictionaries available to them. Spanish learners, for example, will probably prefer to combine the free apps SpanishDict and Diccionario RAE (Google Play, App Store). Mandarin Chinese learners will likely find Pleco more useful. But for some languages, these dictionaries may well be the most thorough and reliable ones available.

The rating is our best guess, but we haven’t yet had the opportunity to fully test and review this resource.

 

Visit Oxford Dictionaries
An Honest Review of News in Slow German With Image of German City

News In Slow German Review – Makes Studying More Fun

News In Slow German

Rating 4.7
★★★★
★
★

Summary

News in Slow German is one of the most fun resources around. Each week, they release a new 30-minute episode that’s ideal for those with an intermediate level of German. While that may not sound like much content, their grammar and expressions catalogs are massive and can provide countless hours of study materials. The current events part of the program is interesting and the grammar and expressions parts are much more fun than you’d expect, while aging very well. Overall, I was impressed with the natural, engaging, and effective way that they teach German.

Quality 5.0
★★★★★

An all-around well-designed resource.

Thoroughness 4.5
★★★★
★
★

Great for intermediate levels, but beginner and advanced students should look elsewhere.

Value 4.5
★★★★
★
★

Somewhat expensive, but there’s more content than you initially expect.

I Like
  • Using current events to learn German makes studying more interesting.
  • Grammar and expressions are taught in a very natural manner that’s actually fun.
  • The huge grammar and expressions catalogs provide a ton of extra content.
I Don’t Like
  • Their app is very basic so you may prefer using the mobile version instead.
  • You’ll want to work with a tutor to get more active speaking practice.
Price

7-day free trial, then $14.90/month. You also have the option to prepay for any amount of months at a time, which doesn’t change the monthly price.

Visit News in Slow German

News in Slow German is a resource that offers material that’s especially good for intermediate level learners.

…

News In Slow German Review – Makes Studying More FunRead More »

Mondly Review – Made Significant Improvements in 2022

Mondly

Rating 2.7
★★
★
★★★

Summary

Mondly is a language-learning app that teaches basic vocabulary and grammar structures. It seems most appropriate for learners with little to no exposure to their target language.

The activities mostly rely on passive recognition of vocabulary and phrases, and therefore are not very challenging. However, they are varied enough that you probably wouldn’t get bored with short, daily practice sessions.

Although I wouldn’t recommend Mondly to anyone looking to seriously learn a language, it may be appropriate for individuals studying languages with less available resources, or for individuals who are preparing to travel abroad.

Quality 3.0
★★★★★

Both the interface and the course itself could be designed better. *Edited on Nov 22* It has made many improvements this year. We will update soon.

Thoroughness 2.5
★★
★
★★★

It’s decent for learning vocabulary, but I thought a lot of the material wasn’t explained very well.

Value 3.0
★★★★★

It’s fairly inexpensive.

I Like
  • Daily lessons, weekly quizzes, and monthly challenges – these functionalities encourage you to practice every day.
  • The vocabulary included is useful and drilled in an effective way.
  • It’s fairly inexpensive.
I Don’t Like
  • The content and exercises are the same for all levels and languages.
  • The exercises are mostly passive.
  • I don’t think the order of lessons and topics is very well thought out.
  • For me, the interface is not user friendly and the platform is visually unappealing.
Price

There are three plans… $9.99 per month for one language $47.99 per year ($4/mo) for one language and $99.99 for lifetime.

Visit Mondly
…

Mondly Review – Made Significant Improvements in 2022Read More »